Cool Tech Gadgets: Oct 11, 2007

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Nintendo's Perrin Kaplan leaving at year's end

Filed under: Gaming

No shocker here: Nintendo's Vice President of Marketing, Perrin Kaplan, will be joining George Harrison and Beth Llewelyn at the end of this year by not continuing to work for the Big N. After being employed by Nintendo for some 15 years, Kaplan has now announced that she "will be leaving the outfit at the end of the year," but noted that until that day, she will remain "focused on getting a great transition team in place and handling all of her normal responsibilities as well." As with Ms. Llewelyn, no replacement has been named just yet, but we can't imagine the firm wasting any time finding a sufficient successor.

[Via GamesIndustry]

Patent investigation could force hard drives off US market

Filed under: Storage

This one's still a ways off, but the International Trade Commission has just launched a patent investigation into five manufacturers that could result in a ban on hard drive imports if the agency finds evidence of infringement. The patents, which are owned by Californians Steven and Mary Reiber, cover a method of using "ceramic bonding tips" on the internal wiring of the drives, and the couple claims Western Digital, Seagate, Toshiba, Hewlett-Packard, and Dell have all infringed. Much like the Qualcomm case, the ITC has a variety of ways of dealing with the situation and the parties have a lot of methods of appeal, but products that infringe on US patents are barred from being imported, so this initial determination will set off a lot of dominoes when it gets made in 45 days. Details are still pretty sketchy on what exactly the ITC is investigating, but we'll definitely keep you updated as we get more info.

Disclaimer: Although this post was written by an attorney, it is not meant to be legal advice or analysis and should not be taken as such.

Asus introduces trio of new LCD monitors

Filed under: Displays

Not content with launching just a single LCD, Asus has decided to loose three new ones on us at all once. Up first is the 19-inch VW198, which features a WSXGA+ (1,680 x 1,050) resolution, 300 cd/m2 brightness, a 3,000:1 contrast ratio, five-millisecond response time, built-in one-watt stereo speakers and VGA / DVI ports to boot. For those who just like bigger panels, the firm is also introducing the 20-inch VW202 and 22-inch VW222 series, both of which sport the same resolution and brightness but offer up a 2,000:1 contrast ratio. Unfortunately, no details on pricing were disclosed, but the trio ought to hit shelves in the not-too-distant future.

[Via FarEastGizmos]

President of AT&T's mobile phone biz retires

Filed under: Cellphones

Stan Sigman, the president and chief executive of AT&T's mobile phone business, has announced that it won't be long before he punches his last time card for the carrier. Reportedly, the exec revealed that he would be leaving to enjoy the luxuries of retirement after 42 years with the firm, and it was noted that Ralph de la Vega would be the man appointed to fill those shoes. Apparently, Stan will be staying on board in order to "assist with the transition through the end of the year," and John Stankey, the president of operations support, will take over De la Vega's prior role.

Widget Summit next week in San Francisco

Filed under: Announcements

We love widgets, we're practically obsessed with them -- both hardware and software -- which is why we're stoked to announce our media sponsorship of Engadget pal and columnist Niall Kennedy's Widget Summit, which is going on next Monday and Tuesday out in San Francisco. Attendees will be treated to two days of solid widgets discussions, including talks from a few companies you might have heard of, like Microsoft, Apple, Google, Nokia, etc. Interested in attending? Well, lucky for you we've got four tickets (worth $500 apiece) to give away. Since this is a conference, though, please don't just enter if you don't think you could make it, ok?

The rules (yeah, there are always rules):

Leave a comment below. Let us know that you'll be able to make it, otherwise we might give the ticket to someone else!
You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you'll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.) In other words, be careful when commenting and if you submit more than once, only activate one comment, ok?
If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory.
Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don't make this rule, be mad at our lawyers or US contest laws if you have to be mad at something.
Winners will be chosen randomly.
Entries can be submitted until Friday, October 12th (i.e. tomorrow), 3:00PM EDT. After that we're all done. Good luck!
Full rules can be found here.

TiVo offers lifetime service transfers to the HD... if you've got $199

Filed under: Home Entertainment

Really want to get that new TiVo HD DVR, but don't want to fork over the cash for another lifetime service plan for it or start going month to month? Well guess what, once again TiVo is sorting you out with a transfer of your lifetime service to the TiVo HD -- for $199 -- if you make your purchase and let them know before November 8th. That's right, all you have to do is qualify your current unit, get your new DVR, then give the boys over at TiVo-central a call to let them know which credit card to swipe. Sure, it seems like you're dropping yet another two-hundred big ones on "lifetime service" when you would think they'd just carry it over for free (or a small fee), but no one ever said life was fair.

Gateway rolls out P-series laptops, GT-series desktop

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

While it likely won't do much to appease those who missed out on the ever-so-shortly-available $300 Gateway laptop, the company has just announced a couple of new entries in its slightly higher-end P-series laptop line, which each manage to stay under the $1,000 mark. Those include the $800 P-6801 model, which sports a 1.46GHz Pentium dual-core processor and a 160GB hard drive, and the $950 P-6822, which ups things to a 1.5GHz Core 2 Duo processor, a 250GB hard drive, and a built-in 1.3 megapixel webcam. Both models also pack the same 17-inch 1440 x 900 display, along with the usual Intel X3100 graphics. On the desktop front, Gateway has let loose its new GT5628 model, which is based around Intel's G33 chipset and packs a speedy 2.4GHz Core 2 Quad processor, along with GeForce 8500 GT graphics, 3GB of RAM, and a spacious 500GB hard drive. Look for it to set you back $950 when it lands October 14th, which is the same day the laptops are set to be released.

Comcast begins long-awaited rollout of TiVo set-top-box

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

It was hard not to doubt yet another seemingly baseless promise heard just this week, but apparently, things have finally fell into place for Comcast and TiVo. According to TiVo spokesman Whit Clay, the New England market of Comcast users can now get their hands on TiVo STBs, as the operator has at long last "begun the commercial rollout of its first cable set-top-boxes that run TiVo's digital video recording technology." Unfortunately, that's all the nitty gritty that has been unveiled thus far, but we'll keep an ear to the ground for further details.

Penn State goes Big Brother with new high-security testing room

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Our attempts to cheat in college pretty much boiled down to a smeary mess of indecipherable acronyms written on our palms, but apparently the kids at Penn State have moved on from iPods and calculators, because the school has resorted to building a high-tech cheat-proof exam facility to cut down on the fakers. Students first enter through a security gate which displays ID photos to proctors on monitors as kids swipe their IDs before sitting down at individual cubes outfitted with network-disabled PCs to take their tests. Proctors are given strict lists of what's allowed and what's not -- everything from textbooks to pencils can be outlawed -- and continually monitor the room with a bank of ceiling-mounted video cameras as well as random spot-checks. We're not certain why Penn State wants test-taking to be even more nerve-wracking than it already is, but something tells us profs who give 24-hour take home exams are going to be mighty popular from now on.

[Via Switched]

WebApps library launched for Apple's iPhone / iPod touch

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Folks hoping that Apple would be so kind as to allow developers to craft their own 3rd party applications and have Cupertino accept 'em with open arms can now commence sulking, as a new WebApps directory unveiled today by Apple is nothing more than a dressed up version of Apple's bookmark list. Essentially, Apple has neatly brought together a selection of company-approved apps (listed here) that should function fine in Safari, but alas, there's absolutely no new functionality. So although iPod touch / iPhone users now have a central hub to go to for links to web applets, Apple is still leaving us high and dry when it comes to native 3rd party application support outside of its browser.

AT&T could win reprieve from FCC's broadband rules

Filed under: Networking

According to The Wall Street Journal, AT&T is "seen as likely to win a reprieve from the Federal Communications Commission from having to comply with some rules in the commercial broadband market." As expected, a number of smaller telecommunications companies are vehemently opposed to the petition, as they suggest that it would "allow AT&T to be excused from rules which give them access to AT&T's network." The FCC has until midnight tonight to make a decision, and it currently looks as though the vote would swing in AT&T's favor three to two. Notably, the outfit may have to agree to "stricter regulation over the special-access market, which provides high-volume voice and data services to large commercial customers" if the reprieve is in fact granted. [Warning: read link requires subscription]

Is Garmin prepping a GPS mouse?

Filed under: GPS

It seemed like the Deluo GPS-in-a-mouse combo was going to be a one-off deal, but our attitude is changing thanks to a recent discovery at the FCC. According to the agency's reports, GPS navigation mainstay Garmin is planning on producing a wireless mouse, and while the existence of a GPS receiver in the peripheral isn't clear, we'd have to assume that given the company's past, they're probably not just knocking out a regular old AA-battery-powered mouse to boost profits. Does this mean we'll be seeing a wave of mouse / GPS match-ups, and does the combination make any sense? What do you -- the clever, good-looking, and infinitely talented reader -- think about it?

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Xbox 360 Arcade ads spotted in the wild

Filed under: Gaming

As if we needed any more proof that Microsoft is set to replace its current low-end Xbox 360 Core console with the long-rumored Xbox 360 Arcade version, GameSpot has now scored a picture of an actual retail display that seemingly all but confirms the Arcade's existence (and imminent release). While there's no price to be seen, the ad does apparently confirm that the console will come bundled with a wireless controller, a 256MB memory card, and five unspecified arcade games. Still no word from Microsoft on all this, of course, although we have a sneaking suspicion that the next "sighting" will likely be in the form of an official announcement.

[Via Joystiq]

HyOn's Xent X3 PMP handles GPS, T-DMB

Filed under: GPS, Handhelds, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Another day, another fabulous conglomerate that we Americans will probably never see in our homeland. On the docket today is HyOn's multifaceted Xent X3, which features a seven-inch 800 x 480 resolution display, support for MPEG1/2/4, DivX, XviD and WMV formats and an internal T-DMB module for snagging TV on the go. Additionally, this WinCE 5.0-powered device includes a SiRFstarIII GPS receiver, an SD expansion slot, 128MB of RAM, built-in speakers and a 500MHz Alchemy Au120 processor. Sadly, we've no idea how pricey this thing is, but we're sure it'll be readily available in locales lucky enough to support it.

[Via NaviGadget]

Downloadable files coming to next Harry Potter DVD

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Video

Users clamoring for alternate (read: easier) ways to transport commercial DVD footage to portable media players will likely enjoy knowing that the next Harry Potter DVD will reportedly feature "two downloadable digital files" for easy viewing on devices other than a vanilla DVD player. According to Jim Wuthrich, Warner senior VP of digital distribution, users can "buy the DVD and have the option of the digital copy," and apparently, he also suggested that "another studio was preparing to launch digital copies of a film tied to its DVD release." Unfortunately, details about the actual formats and whatnot weren't disclosed, so barring any unforeseen announcements, it looks like we'll be waiting for the December 11th release of Order of the Phoenix to find out exactly what this disc contains.

[Via ArsTechnica]

Toyota takes another stab at personal mobility with the i-REAL

Filed under: Robots, Transportation

Just in case the i-unit and i-swing concepts weren't enough to satisfy your imagination, Toyota is giving the whole personal mobility gig one more go with the i-REAL. Granted, we aren't sure if the name is insinuating that this thing is anywhere near commercialization, but nevertheless, this body mover sports three wheels, one of which can extend upwards and back depending on speed. Additionally, it employs "perimeter monitoring sensors to detect when a collision with a person or object is imminent and alerts the driver by emitting a noise and vibrating." Still, we're not exactly sure there's a market for Segway-wheelchair mashups just yet, but feel free to check out lots more pictures over at AutoblogGreen if you're digging the design.

[Via AutoblogGreen]

Gefen introduces Wireless USB 2.0 Extender

Filed under: Peripherals, Wireless

Now that you've already shelled out for Gefen's wireless USB hub, how's about another gizmo from the company to tempt your USB-lovin' soul? The Wireless USB 2.0 Extender requires no drivers, works with Windows, Linux, and OS X-based systems and promises to transmit up to four USB 2.0 signals one hundred-feet through the air. Gefen stated that you'll recognize USB speeds "up to 54Mbps," and while we're all about ridding our work area of unnecessary wires, the $399 asking price still seems a bit steep.

[Via SlashGear]

iPhone Dev Team releases iPhone 1.1.1 Jailbreak with a side of wolf-nipple chips

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Hot on the heels of the TIFF exploit released by a splitter group of iPhone/touch hackers, comes the announcement of a 1.1.1 jailbreak from the original front dubbed the iPhone Dev Team. The hack provides jailbreak, activation, and third party apps but only applies to the iPhone and is not meant for iPhones with modified basebands. Just remember, the risk is all yours if decide to rework the holy wares of the Cupertino Messiah. Thing is, if future Apple firmware updates don't stop you, then the increasingly complex and confusing hacking scene most certainly will.

[Via iPhone Atlas]

McDonald's offering up free WiFi in UK restaurants

Filed under: Wireless

We'll admit it: we've definitely surfed for free while (shamefully) putting down a Big Mac before here in the US, but McDonald's fans across the UK can now look forward to doing the same. Reportedly, the fast-food giant has announced that it would "offer free wireless internet access across its 1,200-strong restaurants in the UK, making it the country's biggest provider of free wireless broadband access." Take that, Starbucks.

[Image courtesy of BBC]

Thanks for coming out tonight, San Francisco!

Filed under: Announcements

We're floored! Over a thousand people braved lines to join us at tonight's Engadget reader meetup in San Francisco, our biggest ever event by far! We're completely humbled, but you're not out of the woods yet. Do us a favor and share your photos and video from tonight, would you? We'll post 'em up tomorrow for everyone to check out. Thanks again, SF!

Please add your pictures to the Engadget Flickr pool here.
And please add your videos to YouTube with the tag engadget2007sf.

We'd also like to thank the premium event sponsor of our San Francisco event, the Bluetooth SIG, who really helped us make this whole thing happen!

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

iPhoneSimFree offers world's first 1.1.1 iPhone unlocks

So, what do you expect to happen now that a pair of jailbreak solutions are out? Why, a 1.1.1 unlock for baseband version 04.01.13_G of course. The "world's first" 1.1.1 unlock comes courtesy of the for-profit iPhoneSimFree team after a tithe to the usual service providers. For their customers who by chance bricked their iPhones by updating to 1.1.1 in haste, IPSF is making their SimFree v1.6 wares freely available to unbrick your $599 coaster. Just hit the read link for all the details.

[Thanks, Dustin B.]

Vii games: "free craps" indeed

Filed under: Gaming

The Wii reverse-engineering hat trick is now complete. The Vii clone just spat out a whole host of new games ready to slake your need for Happy Tennis and Alacrity Golf. Or maybe Fry Egg is more your style. No worries, plenty of options to choose from -- soon, in fact, judging by the pace of these leaks. Too bad your choice of Miis appears limited to a fluffy bunny or albino rat at this point.

Gallery: Vii games: "free craps" indeed

[Thanks, Anonymouse]

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Dell's 22-inch SP2208WFP with webcam and 24-incher out in Japan

Filed under: Displays

It's not out in the US yet, but Dell just announced another webcam packing LCD monitor: the SP2208WFP for Japan. This 1,680 x 1,050 resolution 22-incher features a 2 megapixel webcam and microphone integrated flush with the upper bezel, a 2-ms response, 2,000:1 contrast, and the ability to reproduce 92% of the NTSC color gamut. Inputs? Oh hells yes: analog D-Sub 15, DVI-D (with HDCP), 3x HDMI, and 4x USB. Japan-only for the time being for a tax-inclusive price of ¥59,800 or about $510 whenever it pops Stateside. They've also announced a ¥68,800 ($587) 24-inch E248WFP prepped for a Japan release on October 23rd. This 1,920 × 1,200 model increases the color gamut from the 72% found in their current 24-incher to the same 92% found in the new SP2208WFP. Peep the 24-incher after the break.

[Via Impress]

Another failed smart shopping cart concept shown off by EDS

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

At this point we've seen so many variations on the "smart shopping cart" concept bubble up and fail we're pretty jaded, but the latest version, from Electronic Data Systems, seems like it almost maybe has a chance. Unlike previous concepts, the EDS model is built around the humble bar code: swiping items as you place them in your cart lets you keep a running tally of nutritional information, ethical sourcing, and environmental impact, letting you modify your purchasing decisions simply and quickly. Keeping it simple might be the winning strategy here, but we're not going to be convinced until the carts at our local can do more than just veer straight left.

[Via Vegetarian Organic Blog]

iPhone unbricking now available from IPhoneSimFree

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Hacked your iPhone did ya? Now, after the 1.1.1 update, you're looking at a non-functioning paperweight? Well, we've got good news for you just as long as you're willing to pay. Not only does the 1.1.1 iPhoneSimFree unlock released earlier unlock 1.1.1 iPhones, it also unbricks any iPhone including those unlocked by the Dev Team's anySim or iUnlock software. However, that requires registering your IMEI with IPSF resellers which requires cash in hand. About $100 beans but that's a lot cheaper than a new handset, eh?

iKey unveils night-vision compatible keyboards

Filed under: Peripherals

We're assuming the "bloom" caused by using traditional backlit keyboards with night vision goggles is really only a problem for a small handful of you, but if you're in the military (or just really want to bring that sci-fi aesthetic to your den), iKey's new line of night vision keyboards is probably right up your alley. Normal LEDs can be hard to read with night vision gear, but iKey's units use filtered LEDs that avoid those nasty flareouts -- which also means your ability to blind Buffalo Bill with a keyboard is no more. Thanks a lot, iKey.

iPod touch now running Mail, Google Maps, and more

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

We're not looking at general availability yet, but those happy hacking cats unravelling the iPod touch have decrypted the ramdisk and are now busy installing applications. Already, Mail, Maps, and other 3rd party apps are up and running on their jailbreaked touches. The race is on between the cat and the mouse to see who will release their wares first. Maps screenshot after the break.

Continue reading iPod touch now running Mail, Google Maps, and more

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Solar-powered donkey carts bring power to African villages

Filed under: Transportation

African street tech is always an interesting mashup of old and new, and these solar powered Human and Animal Powered Vehicles, or HAPPYs, as they're known, are no different. Using a traditional donkey cart as a platform, the HAPPY is based around a solar panel and a 12-volt battery, a power supply robust enough to power a cell antenna, water filtration system, emergency lights, and a small neon tube -- enabling the HAPPY to support several families in a rural setting or serve as an income-generating kiosk in a more urban environment. The developer, Wheel and Water, is looking for donations to complete Phase One of the Happy's development, but we wouldn't be surprised to see several other variations of this concept pop in other area where carts of this kind are prevalent.

[Via AfriGadget]

Folding Chinese PMP rocks NES emulation

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

It seems like adding a folding screen actually made this PMP larger rather than trimming any size, but other than that, the YDP-G68 pictured here actually seems pretty decent -- you're looking at a 2.8-inch screen, 2GB of internal memory with SD expansion, MP3, WMA, AAC, ASF and MP4 support, FM radio, TV-out, a 1.3 megapixel camera, voice recording, NES emulation, and support for "ten thousand" calendars. No word on price or whether we'll see this bad boy in the States, but seeing as the minimum order is listed as 200 units, you'd better have a lot of sucker friends to get your hands on one.

[Via PMP Today]

Sony Ericsson's MBS-100 Bluetooth speaker might contain spores

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio, Transportation

If Sony Ericsson was the name for an embarrassing fungal wart then you'd be reaching for a bucket right about now. However, given that SE makes consumer electronics you're actually looking at their new MBS-100 Bluetooth speaker. The crater-pocked sphere features A2DP stereo audio and a rechargeable 5-hour battery for delicious portability. Unfortunately, SE tells us that it "looks as good as it sounds" which doesn't make us too hopeful on the acoustic front. They've also released a 25-hour, HCB-105 Bluetooth car Speakerphone kit. Sure, it looks a bit staid but at least it won't scare the children. No prices given, but the MBS-100 will drop in Q4 while the HCB-105 arrives in Q1.

Gallery: Sony Ericsson's MBS-100 Bluetooth speaker might contain spores

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)